🌐Software Localization Workflow
Best practices and recommendations on localization workflow guide.
Introduction
In my role as a Senior Product Marketing Manager, I revamped Lokalise's guide for software localization workflows. The primary aim was to enhance the use of branching functionality, thereby providing an efficient version control system tailored for localization.
Balancing software development and localization can pose hurdles. Tasks like managing numerous branches for development and translation, merging changes, and sustaining version control require appropriate tools and strategies. This is where the Lokalise workflow guide comes into play.
Problem
The main issue arose from treating Lokalise branching like Git branching, which often led to confusion and, occasionally, loss of data during conflict resolution. Lokalise's branching was purposefully designed for localization tasks.
Outcome
Implementing a thorough localization workflow guide effectively addressed the challenges of confusion that stemmed from treating Lokalise branching like Git branching. This not only reduced the time dedicated to translation management—accelerating the software development process—but also enhanced developer engagement with the platform due to its optimized functionality and user-friendliness. The streamlined processes led to increased satisfaction among both developers and translators.
Tactics
A combination of technical product marketing strategies and practical product management techniques were used to optimize the software localization workflow. Deep understanding of our product, its audience, and the localization industry's pain points played a crucial role. Collaboration with product, customer success, solution engineering, and sales teams were vital in the successful execution of the strategies.
Market Research
To gain insights on best practices, we looked into the software localization workflows of several established tech companies. This allowed us to compare the functionality and efficiency of their localization workflows and take cues for our own. This crucial step was also accompanied by extensive research on version control platforms to decide on the best approach for Lokalise's localization branching.
Tactics for Adoption
To further boost adoption, I utilized various tactics such as creating demo videos, conducting user testing with developers and early adopters, and improving developer examples based on feedback. Demo example projects were created to facilitate faster adoption.
Discovery of Last-Step, Development-Stage, and Testing-Stage Localization
Through an in-depth understanding of the software development lifecycle, we identified three key stages in the localization process that needed attention: Last-Step Localization, Development-Stage Localization, and Testing-Stage Localization.
Tactics for Adoption
To further encourage adoption, we leveraged a variety of methods such as creating informative videos demonstrating the new workflows, conducting user testing with developers and translators, and continually iterating on the workflow based on their feedback.
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